After the first day of SMM 2022 in Hamburg

On Tuesday, 6 September, the SMM maritime trade fair in Hamburg began. The largest maritime interdisciplinary trade fair event of its kind, also with Polish participation and with an extensive conference programme, will last until Friday.

PortalMorski.pl and Poland@SEA is among the media partners of the SMM fair. Fair participants are assured a fresh dose of interesting information about the technical and market achievements of the Polish maritime sector in the English-language magazine ”Poland at Sea” distributed at SMM 2022.

”Poland at Sea” in distribution at SMM fair

This is, of course, not the only Polish accent at the fair. Above all, there is a rather broad spectrum of players operating in the Polish maritime sector. Below the text we have included a list of Polish exhibitors with their stand numbers.

For almost 60 years, the SMM has been a magnet for shipowners, equipment suppliers, shipyards and trade visitors from all over the world. This year’s 30th anniversary edition, taking place in a physical version four years after the previous one, was particularly eagerly awaited. Having held a purely digital version in 2021, organisers expect a total of 40,000 to as many as 50,000 industry visitors from more than 100 countries to attend this year’s SMM.

The return of the ‘physical’ SMM fair after a hiatus due to the pandemic

As the organisers boast – all eleven halls are fully booked. This translates into the presence of around 2,000 exhibitors with an interesting, varied and extensive commercial and technical offer on their stands.

The scale of the SMM fair is striking given its modest beginnings: in 1963, no more than 35 exhibitors set up their stands in the Hamburg exhibition halls at the ‘Schiff und Maschine’ (Ships and Machines) fair. In 1968, this number rose to 212. As the number of exhibitors increased, the name of the event also lengthened: “Ships and Machinery” was expanded to include “Meerestechnik”, or marine technology. To this day, the Shipbuilding, Machinery and Maritime Technology trade fair enjoys continuing international success under the acronym SMM.

The origins of the SMM trade fair are covered in this short video:

SMM 2022 is being held under the patronage of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. However, he did not appear at the fair. At the official opening of the fair, only a video with a message and wishes for a fruitful meeting to exhibitors and fair visitors from the Chancellor was played. Chancellor Merkel has appeared at some of the previous fairs, at least “for a while”, and opened others.

Instead, other personalities show up at the Hamburg fair. For example, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim attended the opening conference and visited the fair.

Some of the SMM fair’s side events already took place on the eve of the fair’s opening – on Monday. One example was the Sustainability Summit debate of the American classification society ABS, which included – as an invited panellist – Magda Kopczynska – Director of Waterborne Transport from DG (Directorate General) Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) representing the European Commission. The ABS panel discussion was an opportunity to address topics such as alternative fuels, the cost of CO2 emissions and the decarbonisation of shipping and their interdependencies.

On the opening day of the fair, there was a traditional press conference where participants and observers – such as market analysts of the maritime industry – discuss its current state, forecasts and prospects, as well as trends that are reflected in the offerings of SMM exhibitors and in the content provided at the conferences accompanying the fair. A similar but pre-emptive press conference, which is a prelude, so to speak, to the September fair, is usually held in May. This year’s preceding and announcing SMM press conference is worthwhile. The good level of content at this conference was guaranteed by the presence of Martin Stopford, a prominent British economist, director of Clarksons Research – a think-tank of Clarksons plc, the world’s largest shipbroker and practitioner – representatives of the maritime business. A video recording of this conference is available here (first embedded video from top): SMM Advance Press Conference 12 May 2022.

Also on Tuesday – the first day of the show – the Norwegian maritime sector presented its (voted by an expert jury and readers of a maritime trade magazine) ‘Ship of the Year 2022’. Which vessel won the title? We write about this in a separate material.

“Things were also happening” at the Polish stands.

 An agreement was signed concerning the classification supervision of the Polish Register of Shipping (PRS) over the construction of three mine destroyers for the Polish Navy at the Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard.

This year’s SMM focuses more than ever on the maritime energy transition, digital transformation and climate change. Many exhibitors consider SMM to be a must-attend event – a formula from the official communiqué of the boasting organisers, but there is undoubtedly something to it. SMM is the largest trade fair of its kind and, if not for everyone in the wider maritime business, certainly for a significant proportion of it – the most important.

Here is a brief summary of the first day of the fair by the organisers:

“As a technology provider for the development of the maritime energy transition, we need SMM as the ideal international stage to present our technical solutions for the decarbonisation of shipping,” – says Toshiaki Hori, CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Equipment.

For SMM 2022, the organisers have ‘set the stage’ to highlight the chosen theme of ‘Driving the maritime transition’, while emphasising the uniquely interactive nature of this year’s show.

“We have consciously reduced some of the exhibition space in favour of ‘Stages of Transition’ to give participants more space to present their ideas and product innovations in an open forum,” – explains Claus-Ulrich Selbach, business unit director at Hamburg Messe und Congress.

At SMM 2022 There are three stages, each dedicated to a specific topic:

• The Green Transition Stage in Hall A4 focuses on alternative drive systems, environmental technologies and sustainability
• Digital Transition Stage in Hall B6 highlights automation, digitalisation and data management
• The Cruise & Ferry Stage in Hall B5 serves to showcase interior design, equipment and technology for cruise ship

From an exhibit weighing several tonnes – a methanol-capable dual-fuel engine from MAN Energy Solutions – to lightweight, energy-efficient LED lights from WISKA, the exhibition halls showcase innovations large and small, grouped by theme.

At SMM 2022 Halls A3 and A4, for example, will feature companies developing alternative propulsion systems or researching green fuel solutions, such as Rolls Royce.

“Our contribution to the journey towards carbon neutrality covers everything from diesel engines with exhaust aftertreatment systems or gas engines and the use of renewable fuels, through hybrid systems to methanol engines and fuel cell systems,” – says spokesperson Silke Rockenstein. Rolls Royce is also presenting new marine automation products.

More intelligent solutions are on display in Hall B4, where stands from well-known shipyards and experts in IT and digital solutions are spread out. Halls B5 and B6 make up the Marine Interiors @SMM section, where everything revolves around the design and furnishing of passenger ship interiors.

This year’s SMM has themed routes – Cruise & Ferry Route, Digital Route, Green Route, Job Route, Security & Defence Route and Start-up Route – leading visitors through the 90,000 square metres of the show to exhibitors of interest.

SMM 2022, is not just about the many hundreds of exhibitors, stands and interesting exhibits. Those looking for the most important innovations and key trends in the industry have five specialised SMM conferences to attend. These include topics such as ‘Environment and alternative propulsion systems’ (7 September at the gmec conference), ‘Science & Wind Power’ (8 September at the Offshore Dialogue) or defence and security issues (8 and 9 September at the MS&D conference).

Polish exhibitors at SMM 2022:

Ministerstwo Infrastruktury – B2.EG 402
Remontowa SA / grupa kapitałowa Remontowa Holding – B4.EG
Crist SA – B2.EG 306
Stocznia Remontowa Nauta SA w restrukt. – B2.EG 402
Aluship Technology Sp. z o.o. – B2.EG 413
Navikon SRY Ltd. – A1 117
Morska Stocznia Remontowa Gryfia SA – B2.EG 410
Grupa Przemyslowa Baltic Sp. z o.o. – B2.EG 304
Polski Rejestr Statków SA – Gdansk – B2.EG 402
Trident BMC Sp. z o.o. – A1 315
Towimor SA – A1 430
DOE Sp. z o.o. – A1 200
Bohamet SA – B5 222
WSK International sp. z o.o. – A2 121
BOTA Technik Sp. z o.o. sp. k. – A4 240
Enamor Sp. z o.o. – B6 428
Famor S.A. – B6 108
Elektryka Morska – B2 140
ZinkPower Szczecin Sp. z o.o. – B2.EG 406
Banco Sp. z o.o. – B5 302
Promap Sp. z o.o. – B5 312
Alnor Ventilation Systems Ltd – B5 513
Przedsiebiorstwo Projektowo-Uslugowe NAVA Sp. z o.o. – A1 117
Seatech Engineering LTD – B2.EG 114
H. Cegielski- Poznan SA – A4 222
STr Sp. z o.o. – A2 131
Baltic Spares Service Spólka z o.o. – A3 311
MTS Marine Technical Services LTD – A3 109
Diesel Engine Service Sp. z o.o. – A3 122
U-Boot Ships Spare Parts Service – A4 425
AHB Service sp. z o.o. – A4 404
MAEM Sp. z o.o. – A4 340
Phoenix Poland sp. z o.o. sp. k. – B2.EG 326
A-SPE Europe I. Mianowski Spólka Jawna – B5 112
Wetcab sp. z o.o. – B5 200
Climarem Sp. z o.o. – B5 201
Kronospan HPL Sp. z o.o. – B5 420
Marine Invest Group – B5 335
Drewil Entership sp. z o.o. – B5.FG 09
Pelixar SA – B6 433
SEC Systems – B6 254.1
Nowa Gruppe Sp. z o.o. – B7 728
NGL Machining Artur Chróscielewski Rafal Bogusz s.j. – B7 427
KSC POLAND Sp. z o.o. – B7 704
Polish Baltic Company PHZ s.j. – B7 702
Województwo Zachodniopomorskie – B2.OG 140